Arizona weekly citizen., 1887-06-18
Daily versus Howard.

l AO''eT was presented to
 the Star' and it refused to publish ;,
 As It gives information the public o,,h,
 to know, l submit the same to tba Or,
 zRS with the request that il be given to
 '-' fuO''o. C.E. DALEY.
 TUCSON. A. T., June I3. ISS7.
 My attention has been called ,o n lat. ter of U. $. Indian Agent Howard ond Your comments thereon, published iu sundays Star, m relation to an orb. as Sommls Sparks of tue Gsna-si Land Office. directing that no filipys o- 1 entries for lands 10 townships one .nd two n'y; h, ranges five ,and six east h.. allowed until otherwise ordered. and os my name has been mentioned m eonnac, ton Herewith, you will please do ma and the public favor by correcting tbe mistakes made in both Agent Howsrd's letter and your editorial notice n, tbe same, O' tne VIII not dc Agent Howard tbe in yus'lce ot saying that he purposey made q mlsstatement of fact, but I w,u zay mat ms IndIscreet and incsnsid.ra,e representations made to Wa,h;ng.c,, expose hlm to the charge of purposeIy doing thing for which he had mo rsas. onaole ground for action, and iron, tha consequences resulting therefrop, Le seeSs 70 escape co-sure by rushing into print, thereby doucly exposing himself to criticism,
 without nRmiGg Rn individual Indian or describing a b gle tract of land ha assumed, Tn Gictatorial manner ,o take the land office to task for nllov;,, entries in the townships named no.' Sithstandlng .be fact that must have been well known 10 him, that tbe hand otnee, without being advised to tbe com trary, could not refuse applicants ina right to make filings and entries. unon the presumption that a few scattered lndians, who occupied some portion of sad townships eight years ago. contin. ued so to occupy them, after being pro- vid=d wlth reservation by the exeen. tive order of ex- x-President Hayes in 1873.
 IL would seem by hIs own statement that he knew nothing, except by hear say, ot Indians occupying townships. or oI Ah! !lnterferencs on the part of set Hers, but upon the report of some Ter son who may have had present or ul- terlcr object or interest in view. and without investigation as to what partic- ular lrdIen or Indians, upon what par Icular tract or tracts of land had been disturbed, without Getiniteness or pgr- ucHiarlty be made complaints to the ian1 othce on the ground that a certain executive order creating the reservation on Salt riN CT, provided that so mucL of townships one and two north, and ranges hve and SIX east, lying south Of Salt hiVerI as are now occupied aud im- proved by said Indians, be temporarily withdrawn from sale and settlement m tl such time as they may severally dls pose of and receive payment for the improvements made by them on said land. The land office has never been advised of any lands being | occupied by Indians Tn said townships, and the presumption has been that there l were none. Had the present or any of | the former agents named any particular | Indians as occupying designated tracts | Dt land, whatever protection was author | lzed by said executive order could have | been made effective, but no Indians | have been named and no tracts of land | designated, and consequently no lands | have been reserved south of Salt River l ID the townships mentioned,
 With this statement of facts the rep resentgtions made by Agent Howard to | the Department at Washington appear | Illadvlsed end without warrant in the | light of what has occurred. He states l that except the lands occupied by Indians | all other lands may be entered as before | Gen. Sparks order. In this he is ID | error, Rs much So as he has been in the I whole business. Commissioner Sparks | order IS mandatory and explicit, to | allow no filings or entries at all on lands embraced in said townships until | otherwise ordered. Such a sweeping order only proves the exaggeration of the representations made by Agent Howard that could induce both the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and the Commissioner of the General Land office to take such extreme measures for the protection or the Iudl2ns they were led Co believe were being robbed and driven from their h"mes in great mum bsrs, and all tbIs in a section of country Shere settlement snd improvement has been goloE on for years without a mur- mnr or qcestiou from Indians or white n an, and where prospective develop ment mrst necessarily come tn R stop snd stsndstili Dy the mIsdirected zeal Of an individual.
 Commissioner Sparks Is not the man to infiict injury of this character on a frontier community knowingly. The face of the order shows that he has been deceived. Gene al Sparks believes ln an honest execution of the land laws, and be stands ID, heart and soul, for the honest bona tide settler. with no favors to bestow on bogus grant claim ants or land -grsbbers of any kInd.
 A withdrawal of lands is always at tended with uncertainty as to the time of restoration. and in case like thIs the aggregation of interests affected and brought into jeopardy reaches into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
 l do not wish to speak bHrshly of 4 gent Howard. He is a new man in the territory, and If he remsins in i; long enough. 1t IS to be hoped he will develop with the country, and Tn time become an efficient officer and useful citizen, but in this matter he seems to have gone ont of his way to do the country an injury. which he cannot be loo quick to undo. If within his power now to correct 1t. Officials on the iron tier have many things to contend with, Indian agents, and l have no ,apticious critism to make, but for one to know he Is right and then go ahead, s the safe rule to follow.
 Very respectfully.
 c. E. DALEY.
 Hard Lines